


Nightfall: Twilight Reimagined

by Big_Idiot_Wolf_Boys



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Multi, POV First Person, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23309899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Big_Idiot_Wolf_Boys/pseuds/Big_Idiot_Wolf_Boys
Summary: Bella Swan, age 18, moves to live with her father in the spring of 1997 to close out her senior year. She expects to spend her days watching football on TV with her dad. Little does she know, Forks is teeming with supernatural life and she soon becomes entangled with it.****************************The forest was dark and deep, and silent. Not a cricket chirped, no owls hooting from above, not even the sound of the usual breeze rustling the leaves. A path stretched infinitely in front of me lit only by the light of the moon. To squash the nerves creeping up on me, I walked slowly and scanned the treeline for anything that may be creeping up on me. There was a figure in the distance. If I squinted, I could barely make out that it was Edward Cullen. He seemed to be glowing slightly, moonbeams refracting off his skin. the other Cullens emerged from the darkness on each side of the path, one by one. They were terrifying and hypnotic.I raced after the strange family, never gaining any ground, until each of them disappeared back into the woods- leaving me alone.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	1. Middle of Nowhere

**Author's Note:**

> The first few chapters will basically feel like a rewrite of the canon text, but there's a few key changes: (the vampires will have fangs, Edward drives a Ford, more diversity, etc) with bigger ones to come!
> 
> Follow me @ big-idiot-wolf-boys on tumblr where I'll post sneak peaks, ask for creative input, and maybe there'll even be a moodboard or playlist to go along with the fic!

The air was dry and heavy in Pheonix, Arizona. I took a deep breath, silently saying goodbye to the warm and sunny place I called home. It was February, and 72 degrees, and I would miss it. A lovely and warm spring, traded for a rainy, cold one. The heavy wool hoodie folded over my arm weighed me down, making me feel lopsided on top of my normal clumsiness. We had bought the thing specifically for the move, and I had a feeling it was going to become a staple in my wardrobe in the coming months. 

Instead of closing out my senior year at home in Pheonix with my mother and her new husband, Phil, I had decided to take one for the team and move in with my father, Charlie. Phil was a minor league baseball player, and while my mom _said_ she didn’t mind staying home with me, I knew that there was a part of her that wanted to travel with him when the season started in April. So, I offered to move in with Charlie to give her that opportunity, and I was continually trying to talk myself into believing it would be for the best for all of us.

Charlie hadn’t been a full-time father since I was only a year old, my mother had fled the tiny, Pacific Northwest town he lived in just after my first birthday. She had hated the rainy, cloudy weather of Washington State, and when Charlie refused to leave his elderly parents to run away with her, she had just run on her own, taking me with her. She shipped me off to Forks every winter break until I was fourteen years old, but we found that my mood was significantly dampened there with the complete lack of sunshine. Charlie didn’t want to give up his limited time with me, so we made a compromise. For the last four winters, Charlie had flown to Arizona to pick me up, and then we left for California for two weeks. This way, he got to enjoy the ocean, and I got my necessary sun exposure. 

That was nothing like living together for months, though. When I arrive in Forks, it will be the first time I’ve lived with Charlie long term. At first, I was reluctant to move. Who am I kidding? I was still reluctant to leave. Phoenix was my home, it was where I’d spent the longest. I knew it and I loved it. I loved the sun that beat down on the sidewalks and the massive city that sprawled before my eyes. Forks would be completely alien to me, the opposite of Pheonix in almost every way.

“Bella,” My mom reminded me again, “You don’t have to do this.” 

Renee looks like a plumper version of myself, with short brown hair and freckles and the beginnings of soft creases in her skin. I felt a surge of panic as I looked at her. How could I leave her? Renee had never been on her own before, and she was so scatterbrained that I had been managing our finances since I was thirteen. Realistically, I knew that Phil would be taking care of her from now on, he was much more level headed. Still, I couldn’t help but worry. 

“Mom, you can’t talk me out of this.” I tried to be gentle, but firm. I had always been a terrible liar, so I stopped saying ' _I want to go’_ two weeks ago. At least this way I wasn’t lying to her, something I hated to do. "I want you to be able to travel with Phil."

“Give Charlie my love, then,” Renee said, chewing on her lower lip as she worried. She said this every time I saw my dad. 

“You know I will.” 

“I’ll see you soon,” She promised, “If you ever want to come home, you know I’ll be there like _that_.” She snapped her fingers to accentuate the point. 

_But not without sacrifice,_ I thought. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. The school year ended in June, it would only be four months until I graduated-- and it would be nice to spend some time with Charlie. 

“Don’t worry, mom,” I said and hugged her tight. She kissed my cheek before stepping away to give me a watery smile. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Bella.” 

And then I got onto the plane. 

The flight from Phoenix to Seattle only took three hours. From there, Charlie was going to pick me up and we would drive another three and a half hours to get to Forks. I liked flying and figured it would be a good time to get some reading done, but I was worried that the ride with Charlie would be awkward.

He was elated that I was moving in with him, in his quiet way; he had enrolled me into the local high school the day after we confirmed plans. I felt a twinge of guilt for not visiting him more in my youth. Now, I wanted to make it up to him and ensure that we would spend some time together. The truth was, though, I wasn’t sure how many football games I could force myself to watch. Besides my guilt, things were still bound to be awkward. In the past, I had made my distaste for Forks clear, like my mother before me. Charlie was bound to know I didn’t really want to be there, even if I wanted to be around him. 

To no surprise at all, it was raining when the flight landed in Seattle, it was a good thing I had said my goodbyes to the sun already. Charlie was waiting for me with a police cruiser. He’s the Chief of Police in Forks, and the cruiser was his only mode of transportation. I made a mental note to save up for my own vehicle as soon as possible. I didn’t want to be seen in a town this small in a cop car. 

When I stumbled out of the terminal, Charlie enveloped me in a tight hug. 

“Hey, Bells!” He grinned awkwardly as he steadied me by the shoulders. “It’s good to see ya. How’s your mom?” 

“She’s fine, she sends her love.” I smiled just as awkwardly and took a half step back. “It’s good to see you too, Char-- dad.” 

“So,” Charlie said conversationally as we strapped in, my two small suitcases fitting easily into the trunk. “I don’t know if you’d remember my friend Billy Black, we used to go fishing with him in the summertime.” 

“I don’t,” I admitted sheepishly. 

“Well, maybe you remember his girls? Rebecca and Rachel? Or his son Jacob?” 

Looking down, I shrugged, trying not to feel too guilty over not remembering Charlie’s friend. I remembered the twins, their names -- and the freckles that dotted over Rachel's nose, her infectious laughter -- Jacob was a little more familiar, I could remember a chubby-cheeked boy with shining brown eyes, chin length hair, and a bright smile slapping his little hands into a pile of mud. 

“Well, he’s in a wheelchair now, and he offered to sell me this truck. It's a classic, but he sold it to me cheap.” 

Was Charlie one of those car club guys? I wracked my brain for memories of wandering around a field filled with classic cars or hearing him tinker with something in the garage, but none came. Well, maybe Charlie was just anticipating my idea of buying a vehicle. 

“I thought it would be a good welcome home present for you, Bella,” He continued, keeping his eyes on the road. 

“Oh.” I smiled widely at Charlie. “Thank you!”

“Don’t say that ‘till you see it.” He said with a chuckle. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I pressed. 

“Well, Jake just rebuilt the engine. It’s in better shape than it looks.”

I wasn’t going to give up that easily. “When did he buy it?”

“Er…” He rubbed the back of his neck before quickly returning his hand to the wheel. “He bought it in ‘84, I think.”

“New?” I urged.

“No.” He sighed, caught out. “It was new in the 60’s, I think. Maybe the mid 50’s even,” He glanced at me. “It’s cool, though.”

“Ch- Dad. I don’t know… I wouldn’t be able to work on it myself if something happened, and I don’t think I could afford a mechanic.”

“The thing runs like a charm!” He promised. 

“Okay…” I mused, resolving to have a professional mechanic look it over just in case. “Well, I’m sorry Billy’s in a wheelchair. What happened?” 

“Diabetic complications,” Charlie grimaced, the face of someone who had seen his friend suffering, “But he’s doin’ great now! Taking real good care of himself, and it doesn’t put a damper on his mean fishing game.” 

We made some more small talk, but it quickly faded away. It wasn’t as awkward as I had expected, since Charlie and I were both comfortable with silence. I stared out the window as we drove, observing my new home.

Washington was pretty, I could admit that, but it was pretty in a way that was far different than my home in Arizona. There was a mist that clung to the air and bathed everything in a soft glow. From the tops of the trees to the grass on the ground, everything was shades of green. There were moss coated tree branches, ferns, and shrubbery encroaching on the shoulder of the road. Compared to back home, Forks felt like a rainforest. 

When we pulled into Charlie’s driveway, it only felt like a short time later; I had drifted to sleep at some point during the drive. He lives in the same two-bedroom home that he bought with my mother. Parked in front of the house was the truck that Charlie had bought for me. It was a soft, faded red. There were big rounded fenders sticking out, with a couple of dings in them and the cab was large and just as rounded. The corner of the tailgate was patched with rust, a hole the size of someone's fist had chewed through the center of the orange patch.

Surprisingly, I loved it. It was a little rough, a little tough. It looked like it had lived a life, like there was a story to it. The body itself was more visually appealing than the boxy four-door cars that were becoming more and more popular. The steel body looked like it could get into a wreck and come out practically unscathed. It was a good fit for me. 

“Dad, this is badass!” I exclaimed. Tomorrow, I wouldn’t have to sludge through the rain on foot to get to school; Or worse, ride in the cruiser. I could show up in my own ride, a shockingly cool one. 

“Well, I’m glad you like it,” Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed. 

It only took one trip to get my things inside and upstairs. My bedroom faced the front yard. It was familiar- it had been mine since birth- though I had never spent much time here. The floor was wooden, and the walls were a pale and faded blue; The ceiling was slanted, the curtains trimmed with lace. A bookshelf and dresser were shoved against the wall. The rocking chair that my Grandma Swan had passed down to Charlie was still in the corner. This was my childhood room, preserved. The only changes that had _ever_ been made was exchanging the crib for a bed and adding a desk when I started school. Atop the desk was a clunky Windows 95 laptop. Charlie had bought it for me because my mother wanted to stay in touch through email. It was nice to see my childhood room this way, but in the back of my mind, I began to imagine little changes I could make.

After making sure I was settled, Charlie left me to get unpacked and sort my things. This was something my mother would never have been able to do- give me a moment alone, to not have to pretend to be happy to be here. I relished sighing dramatically over the rain pouring outside. 

As I unpacked, I let my mind wander. I wasn’t looking forward to starting school tomorrow. Forks High has a total of 321 students; 322 now. There were more than 700 people in my grade alone in Phoenix. There was no crowd for me to blend into here. Everyone had grown up knowing each other, and their families all probably knew one another generations back. I was going to be the new girl; the city kid encroaching on their small-town life.

I set a snow globe on my desk. It was a souvenir from a trip Renee and I took to Hollywood, and when turned over it rained gold glitter over the Hollywood sign.

When I was done putting my clothes away in the cedar dresser that my grandfather had built, I took my bag of bathroom supplies and put everything in its place. While I was there, I cleaned myself up from traveling all day; my normally lush and soft brown waves were frizzy and knotted. The eerie glow of the fog in Forks made me look even paler than the bright sunshine of Phoenix. The beginnings of shadows were forming under my eyes, making it seem as though I was bruised. 

I could think of nothing but the coming day. There was this urgent fear that no one would be interested in becoming friends. They all had their established friend groups already. Besides, who would want to be friends with the chief’s daughter? There couldn’t be much to do in this podunk town besides getting into trouble. 

The rain pounding on the roof and the wind howling through the trees kept me up late. I tossed and turned, and finally shoved my pillow over my head, but the sound still intruded. When the weather settled around midnight, I finally settled into a relatively peaceful sleep. 

In the morning, a thick fog prevented me from seeing further than the driveway when I peered out my window. There was no blue sky, and no sunshine, I felt like the world was closing in around me, I couldn’t breathe. Ripping myself away from the window and taking a deep breath, I reminded myself that this was my idea.

Focus on the routine.

Breakfast was quiet and quick. Charlie wasn’t a morning person. He sipped his coffee and pursued the paper while I scarfed down a bowl of cereal. He wished me good luck at school before kissing me on the forehead and leaving for work. Good luck had never helped me before, but it was nice that he offered the sentiment anyway. 

After Charlie left, I examined the kitchen with its paneled walls and yellow cabinets, the white tiled floor. Nothing had changed. My mother had painted the cupboards seventeen years ago to try to bring some brightness to the room. In the adjoining room, there was the fireplace. A row of pictures lined it: A picture of my parents on their wedding day in Vegas, followed by the three of us in the hospital the day I was born, a picture of the three of us on my first birthday, and then my most recent school photo. It felt like Charlie was living in a museum. 

The last thing I wanted was to be early for school, but I couldn’t stand looking at the relics of my childhood anymore. After pulling on my heavy jacket, I stepped outside with more than a hint of trepidation. While the weather had quieted last night, it had never quite stopped raining and was still drizzling while I locked the house up. My brand new rain boots splashed in puddles on the way to my new truck. I longed for the crunch of gravel under my feet. 

Thankfully, the truck was dry inside. Someone had obviously made an effort to clean it up, but the seats still faintly smelled of tobacco and gasoline. There was a vanilla air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror. The engine turned over quickly, but loudly, and idled at what seemed to be maximum volume. I’d been expecting it, but it still made me jump. The radio worked, which was a positive I hadn’t considered. After fiddling with the stations, classic rock hummed quietly in the background.

Finding the school was easy, though I had never been there. It was, like most things in Forks, right off the highway. It wasn’t obvious right away that it was a school building, it looked more like a jail or civil building. The buildings were a monotonous brick, the walls large and foreboding despite the small student body. 

I parked in front of the building with the large black number 1 and OFFICE sign outside. No one else had parked there yet, so I hoped it wasn’t staff parking but decided to risk it. I stepped reluctantly out of the warmth of my truck and hurried through the drizzle until I was under an alcove by the door. I took a deep breath to steel myself and pushed my way inside. The building was lit with bright fluorescents and was warmer than I expected. 

The office was small; a little waiting area with padded chairs and a faded carpet, awards sat on shelves, posters were tacked to the walls, and a comically large clock ticked away. The room was cut in half by a counter, on top of which there were several baskets overflowing with colorful papers. A large, redheaded woman wearing glasses was sitting behind the counter. She was wearing a bright purple t-shirt, which made me feel overdressed in my soft knitted sweater and heavy jacket. 

The woman looked up. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, uh, I’m... Bella Swan.” Her eyes brightened with a spark of recognition. I was sure she had heard, and partaken in, plenty of gossip about the chief’s estranged daughter. 

“Isabella, of course!” I didn’t bother to correct her as she dug through piles of documents. “I have your schedule here, dear, and a map if you need it.”

She highlighted the best route between classes on the map for me and gave me a slip for each teacher to sign for me to bring back to the office at the end of the day. Then she smiled warmly at me and wished me good luck. 

I politely smiled back, trying to fake enthusiasm. 

Students had started to arrive while I had been inside. I moved my truck, following the flow of traffic towards student parking. I noticed with relief that most of the cars were older, like mine. People still looked in my direction, but I assumed that had more to do with the rumble of my engine than curiosity about me. At least, I hoped so. The nicest car here was a shiny silver Ford, and it stood out. Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was parked so that it didn’t draw more attention than I already had.

Hoping to remain in the warmth for a moment longer, I lingered in the cab of my truck, staring at the map. I was hoping to memorize it so that I wouldn’t have to pull it out later. Eventually, I stuffed the map into my bag and slung it over my shoulder. _I can do this_ , I thought, _no one is going to bite me._

I exhaled and stepped out of the truck, pulling my hood up, and made my way towards the building with the large black 3 painted on the side. My breathing was coming faster now, and I tried to even it out before it became full-blown hyperventilation. 

_You can do this_ , I reminded myself.

The first thing I noticed was how small the classroom was. There were maybe twenty desks in total. I hung my coat on the row of hooks next to the door, following the example of the student who had walked in before me. She was a stunning blonde, who looked more like she had stepped out of an old Hollywood film than Forks high school. She had pale skin, and eyes that were a dark amber, with even darker circles underneath.

I brought the slip up to the teacher to sign. He was tall and lanky, with curly brown hair and oval-shaped glasses that perched on the edge of his nose, looking dangerously close to falling. He identified himself as Mr. G and encouraged me to take a seat without introducing myself. 

Despite taking the open seat at a desk in the back of the room, my classmates still somehow managed to stare at me. I even caught the pretty blonde girl looking my way with an indecipherable expression. I tried to ignore the stares by looking over the syllabus Mr. G had given me: Shakespeare, Bronte, Fahrenheit 451, and The Hot Zone. All things I had read before, but things I would enjoy re-reading. I wondered if my mom would send my old essays, or if she would consider that cheating. While Mr. G droned on, I imagined that argument with her.

When the bell rang, students streamed out of the classroom. Except for a lanky boy with olive-toned skin, black hair, and a green sweater. He made his way back to me. 

“You’re Isabella Swan, right?” 

“Bella, actually.” I corrected as I slung my bag over my shoulder. It was the first time I’d spoken since coming in. The remaining students turned to look at me. 

“Where’s your next class?” The boy who hadn’t introduced himself asked.

I glanced at my schedule slip. “Um, Government with Jefferson, in the annex building.” 

“I’m heading that direction, I can show you the way,” He seemed eager to please. “I’m Eric.”

“Thanks.” I smiled tentatively. 

We paused to get our jackets from the hooks and pulled them on. The drizzle from this morning had turned into large, heavy droplets of rain now. As I pulled my hood up, I could have sworn that people stopped or slowed down to listen to us.

“So, you moved from Phoenix, right? I bet it’s different there.” Eric prompted me as we walked. 

“Very.”

“And I bet you don’t get a lot of rain there.”

“Maybe 8 inches a year.” 

“Wow! I wonder what that’s like.”

“Sunny,” I told him. Eric’s expression implied that he thought I was being rude, and maybe I was, but my deadpan personality made small talk hard.

“Well, you don’t look very tan.” He pointed out.

“My mother’s part albino.”

We walked around the campus, past the gym, to a building marked with a big black 6. Eric walked me to the door, even though it was clearly marked. 

“Funny... Good luck!” He said as I walked into the classroom. “Maybe we’ll have another class together.” 

He studied me carefully, like I wasn’t what he was expecting, and now he had to reevaluate what he thought of me. It seemed like I wasn’t going to find many people with a sense of humor here, I thought.

“Maybe.” I smiled vaguely at him. 

The rest of the morning was pretty much the same. My Trig teacher, who was a surly mountain-man type, was the only one who made me stand at the front of the room and introduce myself. I stammered and blushed through the basics, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any more embarrassing- I tripped over my own feet on the way to my desk.

After a couple of classes, I began to recognize faces. There was always someone who gathered the courage to speak to me after class; they would introduce themselves and ask me the same questions about Forks and my thoughts on it. I ended up telling a lot of little white lies about my opinions on the small town.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, so we walked to lunch together. Her skin was a rich sepia tone with freckles dotting her face. She was a couple inches shorter than me, but our height difference was evened out by the way her dark curls sprang out in every direction. I couldn't remember her name, so I just nodded a lot while she talked me through the different teachers and their respective classes. 

I followed her to a table, where she introduced me to her friends. I sat at the end of the table, forgetting most of their names as soon as they were said. Eric, the boy from English, waved at me from his position in the lunch line.

It was there, sitting in the cafeteria and trying to avoid conversation with strangers, that I first saw _them._

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from the crowd as possible. There were five teens, including the stunning blonde from my English class. None of them were speaking, and they weren’t eating despite having plates of food on the table. None of them were staring at me, unlike the other students, so it felt safe for me to observe them without fear of having to make eye contact. 

There were three boys. One was big, like he spent most of his time at the gym. He had skin in the same sepia tone as the girl I had followed through the line, but a couple of shades darker. His hair was black and had tight curls that were cut pretty short. He almost looked too old to be in high school. The next was taller and lean, but still muscular. He had honey blonde hair that fell to his collar, fair skin, and freckles. He was tapping his fingers on the table. The last was lanky, slouched down, with hair more red than blonde, just as pale and more freckled as the previous boy. He looked to be the youngest of them.

Next, I noticed the girls. The first was the blonde from my English class. She was the kind of girl that radiated beauty and confidence. Statuesque, with blonde hair that curled and hung to her shoulders. I wondered if she was the honey-haired boy’s sister. Sitting next to her was a pixie-like girl, petite with pointed features. Her eyes were large and painted with dark eyeliner, her inky black hair was cut short and sticking out in every direction. She seemed to be the youngest of the whole group and a playful smile flickered when she noticed me staring. 

Somehow, despite seeming mostly unrelated, they shared similar features. They all practically glowed in the fluorescent lighting, almost like their skin was reflective. They all had very dark eyes, ranging from dark amber to almost black, and they all shared bruise-like shadows under their eyes. None of this was the reason I couldn’t look away from these mysterious strangers. 

I stared because they were all the same kind of devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful. They were the kind of beautiful that you never expected to see in real life, especially in the middle of nowhere like Forks. These were faces you would see in magazines or painted by a master of the arts, as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most attractive, the boy with the reddish hair or the blonde girl I shared a class with.

None of them appeared to be looking at anything in particular. They looked away from the other students, away from the staff, and even each other. Some of them stared out the window, or their food, or their own hands. While I watched them, the smallest girl rose with her tray and walked away. No, actually, she _danced_ away-- that's how graceful she was. I watched as she dumped her tray and skipped out the door, faster than I thought possible. I looked back to the others, who hadn’t even seemed to notice her departure.

“Who are they?” I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I still couldn’t remember. 

She looked up, but from a flicker in her eyes, I could tell that she already knew who I meant. One of them moved again, and it drew my gaze back to them. The younger boy with the red hair had looked at my neighbor for a moment, and then his eyes met mine. He looked away quicker than I could, but I dropped my eyes to my tray anyway. My cheeks were burning and I just knew they were bright red. The girl next to me giggled and looked down the same way I had.

“Those are the Cullens.” She said in a hushed voice. “Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who just left was Alice Cullen. They’re Dr. and Mrs. Cullen’s kids, well, sort of..”

I looked at the beautiful boy again. He was now looking at his tray, face a mask of determination. He was picking at his food, but not eating it, and his mouth was moving very quickly. The others still weren’t looking at him, but I could tell they were listening to whatever he was saying.

_Strange name_ s, I thought, _old fashioned_. Maybe that was just the style around small towns. Most small towns had a couple of quirks, after all. I suddenly remembered that the girl sitting next to me was named Jessica, which was perfectly common. I had known more than one Jessica back home.

“They’re… pretty.” I wished that I could put it into better words, but had no idea where to start.

“Yeah!” Jessica agreed. “They’re all together _,_ though. Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they _live together_!” Her voice made it more than apparent that this was a cause of gossip around town. I had to admit that it probably would have caused gossip back in Phoenix, too.

“What did you mean, ‘sort of’?” I asked curiously.

“Well, Edward is Mr. Cullen’s nephew and he’s been staying with them for a while, I guess. The twins are Mrs. Cullen’s younger cousins, and they’re staying with them until they finish school. I think Alice Cullen is their foster daughter and Emmett lives with them because he's with Rosalie.” Jessica rattled off.

“So none of them are actually related?” I asked, trying to sort out that complicated family tree in my head. 

“They all act like one big family, though. The Cullens basically adopted them all. It’s nice, just… weird.” 

“That’s really nice.”

During this conversation, I had barely looked away from the Cullens. My gaze found its way back to them no matter how hard I tried to pull it away. The whole group continued to ignore me rudely staring at them, and none of them touched their food.

“They haven’t always lived here, right?” I definitely would have remembered them from my winters here if that had been the case.

“ _No,_ ” Jessica said this in a tone that made it clear I had asked a dumb question, and it stung a little. I guessed it was obvious that the Cullens were outsiders here, but so was I. “They moved here a couple years ago from Alaska.” 

So they’d been in my position pretty recently. The new kids. I felt bad for them, they clearly didn’t have many friends outside their family. On the other hand, I felt relieved because I wasn’t the only outsider in the tiny school.

As I stared, the redhead looked up and met my eyes again. He looked curious, like he expected something from me. I quickly looked down again, embarrassed at being caught staring.

“Which is the one with red hair?” I asked, peeking up from under my lashes. He was still looking at me. He looked frustrated now, and I looked back down.

“That’s Edward.” She said with a small sigh. “He’s the prettiest, isn’t he? But don’t waste your time, he doesn’t date.” She looked away bitterly. I wondered when he had turned her down.

I bit my lip and glanced at him again. He wasn’t looking at me anymore, but it seemed like the beginnings of a smile were tugging at his lips.

A few minutes later, the whole Cullen family left. They all shared the same strange grace, even the big muscular one; but it was clear Alice was the dancer in the family. The one named Edward didn’t look at me again, and then they were gone.

I sat with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I had sat alone. One of Jessica’s friends, who gently reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology with me next. We walked to class together. She was shy like me, so we walked in silence.

When we entered the classroom, Angela sat in her assigned seat at one of the blacktopped tables that I had come to expect in science classrooms. Someone was already sitting next to her. All of the tables had two people sitting at them, except for one. Edward Cullen was sitting next to the only open seat.

I introduced myself to the teacher, Ms. Ramone, and she signed my slip and sent me off to my desk. Just as I began to walk, Edward stiffened in his seat and stared at me again. His expression wasn’t curious anymore. Now he was staring at me with some kind of angry horror. I felt my cheeks heat up and tripped over a backpack someone had left in the aisle. I had to catch myself on the corner of my desk. The girl who owned the backpack snickered at me. I barely registered it.

Edward’s eyes were black as pitch, and his hands were curled into tight fists. 

I kept my eyes down as I slid into the only available seat in the room, right next to him. Why was he staring at me like this? What changed between lunch and now? I couldn’t understand why Edward looked so angry with me. What had I done to deserve the fury burning in his dark eyes?

I didn’t look at him directly when I sat but from the corner of my eye, I saw his posture change. He was sitting rigid in his seat and leaned as far away from me as the small space would allow, averting his eyes and wrinkling his nose like he smelled something bad. With a toss of my head, my hair fell in a curtain over my shoulder, blocking Edward from my view. What the hell was with him?

I tried to refocus on the teacher. Unfortunately, we were learning about cellular anatomy, which I had learned about the year before. I took notes anyway, focusing intently on making my handwriting look nice so I wouldn’t be tempted to sneak a glance at Edward.

It was no surprise that I couldn’t stop myself from peeking over at him occasionally from behind the curtain of my hair. During the whole class, he didn’t relax at all. His hands were still clenched into fists, the pale skin stretched tight over his knuckles. The sleeves of his blue sweater were pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly muscular. He wasn’t nearly as small as he had looked next to his burly ‘brother’. The blue of his sweater made him look even paler than before. 

The class dragged on longer than the others. Maybe because I was practically counting the seconds, or maybe because the day always seemed longer after lunch. No. Of course, it was because I was waiting for him to relax next to me. He never loosened his fist-- and besides the irritating bouncing of his knee, he didn’t seem to move or breathe at all. Did he normally act like this? 

After all, it couldn’t be me. He didn’t even know me.

I peeked up at him again and instantly regretted it. He was glaring at me. His black eyes burned into mine. I flinched away, curling into myself. Then the bell rang and I almost jumped out of my skin. Edward was out of his seat before I could compose myself, and out the door before anyone else. He was much taller than I thought.

I was frozen in my seat, blinking after him. What was he so angry about? What had I done to evoke such a strong reaction when he knew nothing about me? I gathered my things slowly, trying not to let the anxiety overtake me. That would lead to crying, and I wouldn’t let that happen in school. 

“Aren’t you Isabella Swan?” A voice asked. I almost snapped at it until I saw the person it came from.

A round-faced boy with pale blue eyes and blonde hair that was carefully spiked up smiled at me in a warm, friendly way. He clearly didn’t think I smelled bad. 

“Bella,” I corrected. Again.

“Hi, Bella. I’m Mike.” 

“Hi, Mike.” I tried not to sigh. I couldn’t wait for my novelty to wear off.

“Do you need any help finding your next class?” 

“I’m heading to the gym, and I’ve passed it twice today already. But thanks.”

“Hey, that’s my next class too!” He was enthusiastic, I’ll give him that. 

We walked together, and he barely stopped talking to breathe. He had lived in California until he was thirteen, so he knew how I felt about the sun. It turned out he was also in my English class, and I just hadn’t noticed. Mike was the nicest person I’d met today, he reminded me of a golden retriever.

Just as we entered the gym, Mike asked me, “So… Did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or something? I’ve never seen him act like that.”

I cringed. At least I wasn’t the only one who had noticed his behavior, but this meant that it wasn’t his usual behavior, and the only new factor was _me._

“The boy I sit next to in Bio?” I asked, playing dumb. 

“Yeah,” Mike nodded. “He looked like he was in pain or something.”

“I dunno.” I shrugged and tried to pretend like it didn’t bother me. “He didn’t say two words to me the whole class.”

“Well... He’s weird anyway.” Mike said, as if this was some kind of condolence for Edward’s behavior. “I would’ve talked to you if we sat next to each other.”

“I know, Mike.” I smiled at him and escaped to the locker room before I had to deal with any more small talk.

The gym teacher found me a uniform but didn’t make me wear it for my first day. At home, only two years of PE are required. In Forks, all four years are required. As if this place wasn’t already my personal hell. I watched four volleyball games played at the same time, trying to stay out of the way. I knew how many injuries I was bound to inflict if they made me participate.

The final bell rang at last. A saving grace from the first day of Forks High. I walked to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had blessedly stopped, but the wind had picked up and blew my hair around my face in large gusts.

When I walked into the office, I almost decided to just leave and come back the next morning.

Edward was standing at the counter with his back to me, I recognized him from the windblown bronze hair. I pressed myself against the wall by the door, waiting for the receptionist to be free. _Please don’t notice me_ , I begged silently.

He was arguing with the woman behind the counter, and it didn’t take me long to figure out why. He wanted to switch Biology classes! couldn’t believe this. Something must have happened in the classroom before I arrived. This couldn’t be about me. It was impossible that someone who didn’t know me could harbor such resentment towards me.

The door opened again, and a gust of wind rushed in. Papers flew off the desk, my hair swirled around my face once more. The girl who had come in simply dropped a note into one of the baskets and walked back out. This caused another gust of wind. In these few seconds, Edward had stiffened in a now-familiar way and then turned to glare at me. His face was handsome, but it didn’t dull the hostility radiating off of him. I felt a thrill of fear, goosebumps rising on my skin. He turned back to the receptionist.

“Never mind.” He said in a velvet-smooth voice. “I understand there’s nothing you can do. Thank you anyway.” And then he turned and left without another look towards me.

I took a moment to collect myself before shyly handing over the paperwork to the woman.

“How was your first day, sweetie?” The woman asked with a kind smile.

“It was good.” I lied meekly. She didn’t look convinced but didn’t press me on the matter. 

My truck was the only vehicle left in the parking lot. It was like a small piece of home in this damp, green alien planet I had found myself on. I sat inside for a while, with the heater cranked, while I tried not to cry. Nothing terrible had happened, but I still felt overwhelmed and exhausted. Eventually, I gathered myself enough to head back to Charlie’s. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Re-edited Jan 10th 2021
> 
> Bella drives a 1954 Chevrolet pickup  
> Edward's car, briefly mentioned, is a '77 Ford Thunderbird


	2. First Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Edward and Bella have their first conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And in which the author spent a pointless amount of time researching 90's tech and services to make sure it's accurate to the era lol
> 
> Fan cast is up on my tumblr, where I'll likely be posting little things that don't make it into the story, like what kind of car Edward drives!

The second day of school is easier than the first because you know what to expect. Thankfully, everyone outside of the group I had somehow been adopted into seemed to have forgotten about me already. Maybe my worries about people remaining curious about the new kid were unfounded; everyone seemed content to leave me be, for the most part. Mike sat next to me in English, chatting my ear off, and then escorted me to my next class. Eric glared at him the whole time.

We had a surprise test in Trig, and I didn’t even know the formulas we were supposed to be using. I made a mental note to hide my grades from Charlie, I couldn't manage to do much more than basic algebra. Not that I really imagined my dad would be very strict about making sure I maintained good grades, as long as I did well enough to graduate.

In Spanish, Jessica and I were paired together to translate recipes from Spanish to English. All morning, I worried about lunch. Not where to sit or what to eat; I was worried about having to endure those strange, hateful glares from Edward Cullen. If it were anyone else, I’d just ask what his damage was. Something about the Cullens struck me as strange, though. I remembered Edward’s coal-black eyes and shuddered.

It turned out that I had nothing to worry about. When Jessica and I entered the cafeteria, Edward was nowhere in sight. A quick scan of the room proved the rest of the Cullen siblings were sitting at their usual table, but he was not with them. 

Jessica was thrilled when Mike bounded up to us, and the others from yesterday quickly joined us. Today, I picked up some of the names I hadn’t yesterday. Lauren, Tyler, and Ben rounded out this loose collective of friends. Lauren had long blonde hair, pale skin, and pretty green eyes. She hadn't spoken to me much but when she had, it was clear that she didn’t have any interest in getting to know me. Tyler was tall and athletic-looking, with dark skin and brown hair and eyes. Ben was the shortest of the group, he had golden-brown skin and black hair that he wore with bangs swooped to one side, landing just above his glasses. 

“I finally saved up enough to get a Playstation,” Ben exclaimed, leaning over Mike to grin at Eric. “Told you I could do it before summer break!” 

“Yeah, but you spent so much time working that we almost forgot what you look like,” Eric laughed. 

“Whatever, dude, at least we don’t have to drive to a different county to play Mortal Kombat anymore,”

“We just have to hang out in Ben’s grungey basement instead,” Mike playfully taunted. 

“Hey, I’m gonna deck it out, you’ll see!”

I tried to focus on the conversation but my thoughts kept wandering back to Edward. I was dreading the moment he entered the room and turned his angry gaze on me.

Anxiety washed over me as I waited; my appetite never appeared, my muscles were tense, and my knee was shaking so much that the chair under me squeaked in protest. He never appeared, rendering all my anxious energy useless.

“Bella, would you  _ quit  _ it?” Lauren snapped, yanking me back into the moment. “You’re shaking the whole table.”

“Sorry,” I muttered. My knee jerked to a sudden stop as I ducked my head in embarrassment. 

After lunch came Biology. I approached the door with dread coiling in my stomach. Maybe he'd decided to get lunch somewhere else in town, which meant he would still be in class. I hesitated outside for as long as I dared, but the warning bell sounded. Classes were starting.

Edward wasn’t in his seat, and the dread faded... Until about halfway through class when the realization hit me-- it had merely transformed into a messy combination of guilt and irritation. How could he hate me so much he’d skip school to avoid me? How could I have pushed Edward away before I even had a chance to speak to him? What could I have possibly done to offend him?

After stewing in this line of thought for too long, I tried to tell myself that  _ I  _ couldn’t be the problem. He didn’t even know me! Still, there was a voice in the back of my mind that said it was all my fault.

When Biology blessedly came to an end, the day took a turn to worse, somehow. The gym teacher announced we would be split into two teams, for the class to play soccer. I tripped over my own feet several times, fell in the mud, scraped my palms, and even misaimed a kick so badly that the ball hit one of my classmates in the face. After that, the teacher told me to stand in the corner of the field and watch.

When school finally let out, I practically ran to my truck. I slammed the door in my hurry to get inside. I turned the key and put the heater on high, waiting for the warm air to come rushing out of the vents. The warm scent of tobacco and vanilla comforted me, the truck was quickly becoming a place of solace at the end of each day.

I backed out of my space and into the line of people waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited for my turn to leave, I saw the Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. A shiny silver Ford. Of course. Previously, I’d been too dazzled by the Cullens’ supernatural beauty to notice their clothing, but now it was obvious they came from money. Every one of them was wearing designer labels. Alice’s Balenciaga dress probably cost more than the mortgage on my mother’s house in Phoenix. I felt a brief stab of jealousy. It wasn’t enough that they were so pretty, they had to be well off, too?

This morning, Charlie had asked me to pick up a few things from the grocery store after school. It was only a few minutes away- like everything else. The bright lights and stocked shelves reminded me of doing the shopping back home. I fell into the familiar pattern with ease. It was practically second nature how I ghosted through the aisles, keeping track of Charlie's budget in my head.

Back at the house, I shoved the groceries wherever they could fit and began to prep dinner. All it took was tossing some steaks in a marinade and throwing some potatoes in the oven. This was a meal that I knew Charlie would approve of, and the perfect way to introduce him to the idea of me doing the cooking.

When I finished the prep, I took my backpack upstairs and threw on a pair of PJs, tying my hair up afterward. Glancing at my school bag again, I sighed. Most of the homework I’d been assigned today was covering things I’d already done back home-- and I wasn’t looking forward to repeating it.

So instead, I put the effort into checking my email for the first time since my arrival. Charlie still had dial-up, and the laptop beeped and screeched at me as it connected. Renee had signed us both up for a service called NetMail through AOL so we could stay in touch through e-mail.

Three unopened messages.

_ Bella, _

_Write to me as soon as you get time. I want to know everything about your flight! How is Charlie doing? Is it raining there? I’m sure it is._

_I miss you already. I’m almost finished packing for Florida, but I can’t find that pink floral shirt. Do you know where I put it?_

_Phil says hi and good luck at school tomorrow. We love you!_

__ _ Mom _

__ That was sent about an hour and a half into my flight to Seattle. I sighed and clicked the next one. It was sent eight hours after the first.

_ Bella, _

_Why haven’t you emailed me back? I’m waiting to hear from you._

__ _ Mom _

__ The newest email was from this morning.

_ Isabella Swan, if I haven’t heard from you by 5:30 pm, I will call Charlie.  _

My mom and I had always gotten along well, but Renee had leaned on me for a lot. I was sure that she was spiraling already. I glanced at the clock in the corner of the screen. There was still an hour until mom’s deadline, but I had a feeling she would get antsy and call early.

_ Mom, _

_Everything is_ ** _fine._** _Don’t worry. I was just waiting for something to write about._

_Bella._

__ Send.

Now that the danger of my mother interrupting Charlie’s workday was out of the way, I began a second email.

_ Mom, _

_Your blouse is at the dry cleaners, you were supposed to pick it up right after dropping me off at the airport._

_Of course it’s raining. I have to slosh through puddles to get to every single class I have. Speaking of, school is fine. Repetitive. I’ve already done most of what we’re covering. Easy graduation credits, I guess!_

_Charlie bought me a truck. I couldn’t believe it. It’s this old, sturdy thing. Which is good. You know. For me. I love it._

_I miss you too. I can’t check my email every five minutes, though. Breathe. It’ll be okay. I’ll write again when I have something interesting to talk about, I promise. I love you._

_Bella_

__ The novel we were studying in English was Wuthering Heights, which happened to be one of my favorites. My copy of the book was a well-worn hardback, the edges of the cover softened with age. It was easy to sink into the familiar fictional world; by the time Lockwood was having his first nightmare, the sounds of the world around me had blurred and faded into the background.

“Bella?” My dad’s voice rumbled downstairs.

Oh, crap, I had forgotten all about dinner! After hastily shoving a bookmark into place, the book was tossed onto my pillow. I rushed downstairs, tripping over my own feet at the bottom step, but Charlie was there to catch me by the shoulders.

“Where’s the fire?” He asked, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

“I forgot about dinner,” I explained sheepishly, leading the way to the kitchen to pull the potatoes out of the oven. I put the steak in to broil before turning around to look at Charlie with an apologetic smile. “I wanted to have it ready for when you got home.”

“Bells, you don’t have to do that.” He said with a small frown. He must expect me to have the same bizarre tastes as Renee. Her experiments in the kitchen often ended up in the trash, completely inedible.

“It’s just steak and potatoes.” I shrugged dismissively, fluttering one hand. To balance out my mom’s wacky dinners, I had learned how to fend for myself and make it taste pretty good, too.

“That’s not what I meant,” Charlie said, hanging his jacket on the back of his chair at the table.

“What did you mean?” He set the table while I pulled the food out of the oven. I caught him sniffing appreciatively at the air.

“I  _ mean...  _ I should be the one cooking dinner, not the other way around.” There was an unspoken  _ duh.  _ As if nothing in the world made more sense than for Charlie to cook dinner for us. My throat tightened a little and my eyes watered. I turned to get myself a glass of water so I could collect myself without him seeing how something so simple had affected me.

“Oh.” 

Charlie sat at the table, and I sat across from him.

“It smells good, though. Thanks, Bell.” He smiled warmly at me and I noticed how his eyes crinkled at the corners. He was beginning to show signs of age now; lines in his face, salt and pepper flecked his scruff. 

We ate in silence for a while, which was more than fine by me. Charlie and I were quiet people, and though I had misjudged my role here, we were good housemates.

“How was school?” He asked, interrupting my thoughts, “Make any friends yet?”

“Well…” I tapped some pepper onto my potatoes to stall for time. “Everyone’s really nice. I sit with a group of people at lunch, but I don’t know if I’d say we’re friends yet.”

“That’s a start,” Charlie encouraged me. Was it that obvious how worried I was about being the new kid? And the reaction I’d gotten from certain classmates…

“Do you know the Cullen family?” I asked suddenly, curiosity overtaking me before I could stop it. 

“Dr. Cullen’s family? Sure.” 

“The kids don’t seem to fit in. No one talks to them.” I decided not to worry Charlie with Edward’s reaction to me. 

“Dr. Cullen has been a huge help to the community, you know,” Charlie said, more strongly than before. “We’re lucky to have him. He could have his pick of jobs all over the place. His wife wanted a small-town life, though. Sure, I was worried when they moved here with all those kids, but I haven't had one ounce of trouble from them.” He was really gathering steam now. “But just because they’re new to town and a little different, people just have to gossip about them.” 

I rethought my approach.

“I just meant that they sort of stick to themselves.” I tucked my hair behind my ear before continuing. “They all seem pretty smart.”  _ Or just pretty. _

Charlie shrugged one shoulder, regaining his usual calm. “Guess there’s not much you can do in a town like this. People decided they were outsiders, so why should they try to make friends? Maybe you’ll have something in common with one of ‘em.”

I didn’t answer him, too busy thinking about what he’d said. We finished eating in silence, and he cleared the table before I had a chance to. I stood next to the table, feeling a little useless. 

“You don’t have to take care of me, you know,” I said, nodding to the pile of dirty dishes that Charlie had just finished stacking next to the sink.

“That’s my job, Bells.” He kissed my forehead before retiring to the living room to put on the game. I blinked quickly to counter the sudden wetness that sprung up in the corners of my eyes.

Determined to help out around the house somehow, I turned back to the dishes. Charlie might want to take care of me, but that didn’t mean I had to be a freeloader. I washed the dishes by hand and set them on the rack to dry. With no other preoccupations, there was nothing left to do but trudge upstairs to work on my math homework

When I finally tumbled into bed, exhausted, I slept dreamlessly. 

The rest of the week flew by in an uneventful blur. I learned where all my classes were and how to get to them the fastest. I was also able to place most of my classmate’s names to their faces- and they knew not to pick me in gym class. Jessica was still happily chatting my ear off at every opportunity, to the annoyance of her friend Lauren, who had mostly given me the cold shoulder. When I needed a reprieve from that- Angela Weber was there to quietly discuss Wuthering Heights.

Edward Cullen didn’t return to school.

The whole week, I shared my first class of the day with Rosalie, but I could never gather the courage to speak to her and ask what her brother’s problem was, or if he was ever coming back. Every day, I looked to their table to confirm that he wasn’t there, then I could relax. 

Recently, Mike had really been pushing the idea of a weekend beach trip, and Jess and Angela always made sure to mention that I was welcome to come. I agreed to go, mostly out of a want to get to know my new friends. Whatever they called a beach here would only fall short of my expectations. By Friday, I confidently walked into Biology with the knowledge that Edward wouldn’t be there with his strange, hateful stare.

My first weekend in Forks was, predictably, boring. On Saturday, I went to the Forks Public Library but I was so disappointed by their selection that I didn’t even bother to get a card. I looked at the local stores to see what their small selections had, but no dice. It seemed I was going to have to make a trip out of town if I wanted any new reading material. Charlie, who had been working weekends for the last fifteen years, spent most of his time at the Sheriff’s Office. I spent the rest of my time cleaning the house, reading ahead for English class, and emailing with my mom.

On Monday morning, people smiled and waved at me in the parking lot. I waved back, even at the people whose names escaped me. The air was more crisp than usual, the cold impaling me to the very bone. 

In English, Mike sat next to me, reliable as ever. We had a surprise quiz on Wuthering Heights, no doubt I would get an excellent grade on it.

“Man, I just can’t get into this book,” Mike complained. 

“I know,” Eric agreed, leading the three of us towards the door, and into a flurry of white tufts in the air. I could hear teenagers yelling gleefully from every direction. “Do we really need to know about this guy’s nightmares?”

“His nightmares are actually pretty important,” I piped up, my nose twinged in the cold. “They give a lot of insight about-”

“Snow!” Mike interrupted with a grin.

I shoved my hands into my pockets, surveying the sidewalk for ice. “Ew.” I wrinkled my nose. 

“You don’t like snow?” Mike asked, his gleeful look dampening significantly.

“I guess it’s better than rain.” I conceded. “But I thought it was supposed to be prettier than this. Distinct flakes or whatever.”

Mike looked at me with all the disbelief he could muster. “You’ve never  _ seen  _ snow?”

“Well, yeah. On TV.” I said defensively.

Mike laughed, but the sound was cut short by a ball of slush hitting him in the back of the head. I anxiously looked in the direction it had come from, ready to use my backpack as a shield. Eric had his back to us, walking in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike knelt to scoop up his own ball of mush. 

“You know what, I’ll just see you at lunch,” I said hurriedly, beginning to make my way towards the school. “Once people start throwing things, I get out of range.” I shot him an apologetic smile, but his eyes were trained on Eric’s back.

The only thing anyone wanted to talk about was the snow’s sudden arrival. I bit my tongue, to not ruin everyone else’s excitement. It seemed like I was the only one who wasn’t fond of the cold, wet weather.

When it came time for lunch, I hurried to the cafeteria with Jess. Snowballs were still flying left and right, though they didn’t really stick together well enough to be qualified as a ball. Jessica thought that I was being dramatic about the whole thing, but she was nice enough to not pull me into the brief snowball fight between herself, Mike, Eric, Ben. 

The fight only lasted from building 3 to building 1, where the cafeteria was. Mike opened the door for us. They argued about who had won as we waited in line to pay for our food. Nothing but habit brought my eyes to the table that the four Cullens occupied every day. Only today there were five of them. I froze where I stood. It would be better to be back out in the snow.

Jess tapped on my shoulder. “Earth to Bella! Hello?” 

I looked down, feeling the heat from my cheeks up to the tips of my ears when I blushed. There was nothing to be embarrassed about, though, I firmly reminded myself.

“Are you alright?” Mike asked, leaning over Jessica’s shoulder to look at me.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled, tucking my hair back. I carelessly tossed an apple and milk crate onto my tray and followed my friends. 

“Are you sure you feel okay?” Ben pressed.

“Actually, I feel kind of sick,” I admitted, sitting next to Jess and keeping my eyes down. Twice more during lunch, someone asked how I was feeling. For a fleeting moment, I considered playing it up so I could skip my next class. Biology with Edward. I almost shuddered at the thought but reminded myself that I’d done nothing wrong. Edward was the one with the problem. I steeled myself and looked at the Cullen’s table. If he still looked at me like I was some kind of loathsome monster, maybe I  _ would  _ skip.

At the end of the table, Mike laughed boisterously at something; this was my excuse to look in that direction, and then peer past him to the table where the otherworldly family was sitting. None of them looked at me. I sat up straighter. They were joking and laughing with each other, a first. They appeared to have snow in their hair, though it was melting rapidly under the school’s heating system. Rosalie and Edward were leaning away as Jasper shook his head like a dog- causing icy water to fly at them. They were just enjoying the snow like everyone else, only they looked like movie stars.

Besides how loud and happy they were compared to last week, there was something else that was amiss about the scene. I found myself staring at them individually as I tried to figure it out. I was the most familiar with Rosalie since we shared a class, so I started with her. She looked the same as ever: stunningly beautiful. The others looked the same as always too, maybe the scene had seemed off because Edward had returned. 

I looked at him with the most attention. He was flushed, for one. Maybe from laughter, or the cold. It looked like he had finally gotten a good night’s sleep, the bags under his eyes were much less pronounced. There was still something, though…

“Bella, what  _ are  _ you staring at?” Lauren’s eyes followed my gaze as she mocked. She had picked up on my growing obsession with the Cullens before anyone else. How long had I been spacing out? 

“The windows,” I lied, “I’m hoping the snow will go away before we have to go back out there.” 

Edward looked our way as if we had called out to him, even though we were all the way across the room. I looked away, but not quickly enough. Our eyes met for a split second. He wasn’t wearing that angry expression from last week, he looked curious.

What was this guy’s deal? Why couldn’t he make up his mind?

“Edward Cullen is staring at you,” Jess said in a hushed voice, leaning in front of Lauren.

“Really?” I squeaked. “I don’t think he likes me.” I felt queasy and offered to trade Eric my milk for his water bottle. He accepted and I took a large gulp of the refreshing liquid as soon as he passed it over.

“It’s okay, Bella.” She said comfortingly. “The Cullen’s don’t usually like anyone. But he’s still looking at you.”

“Stop looking!” I hissed.

She giggled but looked away. I took a smaller sip of water, focusing with all my might on not looking at the Cullens.

Mike spoke up then, and I had never been more thankful for his interruption. He was planning a snowball fight after school and announced it loud enough for everyone to hear. Jessica agreed enthusiastically, but I was starting to think she would agree to do anything as long as Mike was involved. I decidedly didn’t speak up and began to plot where to hide until the fight was over and I could safely make it to my truck.

When the bell rang I made my way to the door, hoping to avoid walking to class with Mike, who seemed to be a large target for snowballs. He and the others caught up to me in two long strides. When we got to the door, everyone but me groaned. The snow had pretty much stopped coming down, and what little snow had stuck to the ground was muddy and gross. I hid my pleased smile and tested the iciness of the sidewalk. As good a grip as any other day. Well, on a good day for me. Mike complained about the snow’s disappearance until we got to the door of the biology classroom.

I was relieved to see my table was empty and rushed to it as if getting there first allowed me some kind of claim on the space. Of course, this wasn’t the case, but it made me feel better nonetheless.  _ I  _ had been here all last week, after all. 

Mrs. Ramone began to hand out microscopes and slides, and my classmates chattered quietly among themselves. I doodled on the cover of my notebook, sketching out the sparrow I could see from the window next to my table. 

The chair next to me was pulled out with an unsettling screech, but I very carefully kept my eyes averted from my tablemate.

“Hello,” Said a quiet, musical voice.

This was the first time one of the Cullens had spoken directly to me, and something about the wind chime quality of Edward's voice sent a shock through me. I sat rigidly and whipped my head around to face him. 

He was sitting at the furthest end of the desk, like last week, but his chair was turned so that he was facing me. It almost seemed casual but something was jarring about the whole thing. He seemed unnatural somehow, like he didn’t belong here. His expression was friendlier than I expected, a polite smile gracing his features, but his eyes were guarded. 

“I’m sure you’ve already gathered by now, but I’m Edward Cullen,” He continued, “And you’re Bella Swan, right?”

My mind swam. Had I completely imagined Edward’s hostility? He was friendly now, if a little strange. 

“Why did you call me Bella?” I blurted. 

“Oh, is Bella for friends only? I just-” Edward faltered.

“No, I prefer Bella. Everyone called me Isabella when I first got here… I guess Charlie- I mean, my dad- must call me that when I’m not around.” I explained, feeling even more out of my element than usual.

Ms. Romane clapped her hands together to gather our attention. I was incredibly grateful for being saved from any more embarrassing small talk. Today, she announced, we were going to be identifying and sorting cells into the phases of mitosis without looking at our books. The teacher would be making rounds at the end of class to see who got it right.

“Let’s get going everyone!” She clapped her hands together again.

“Shall we?” Edward asked, smiling crookedly as he pushed the microscope towards me. I was once again struck by his dazzling beauty-- until his smile began to fade. “Or I can start,” He added. Shoot, I must have waited too long to answer him.

“I can do it.” I shook my head a little to clear it from the fuzz that had momentarily clouded my mind. I hoped I wasn’t blushing.

Okay, maybe I wanted to show off a little. My previous school had been more advanced than Forks High, and I had already done this. It was easy. I slid the little glass slide into place and adjusted the microscope until it was properly focused. It only took me a few seconds for to assess the slide.

“Prophase.”

I started to remove the slide, but Edward reached out to stop me. “Mind if I look?” His hand was freezing, as if he had just come in from playing with the snow. I couldn’t help ripping my hand away. Besides being cold, it was as though he had shocked me. I tried to chalk it up to static electricity. 

Curiously, I watched him examine the slide. He had barely looked at the thing before writing  _ prophase  _ gracefully on our worksheet. He switched out the slides and glanced at the second one just as quickly as the first.

“Anaphase,” He said, writing it down as he spoke.

“Mind if I check?” I asked, sounding more courageous than I felt.

Edward pushed the microscope my way, this time avoiding any contact between us. I tried to look as quickly as possible. I was disappointed, he was right.

“The next one?” I asked, my competitive nature peeking out. He handed it to me, still careful to not let our skin touch. 

“Interphase,” I announced. He took the microscope from me with an amused smile.

Despite our little competition, we were the first team to finish. Mike and his partner, a girl named Tara, were comparing two slides repeatedly. Another group seemed to have broken a slide and were trying to tape it back together. I tried to hide my own amused smile at that. Unfortunately, finishing first meant that we had nothing to do but wait for the end of class. I tried not to look at him, but that didn’t last long.

When I glanced up, Edward was looking at me with intensity. Frustrated again, like he was trying to remember something. Suddenly, it clicked in my brain. Why his family looked so different.

“Are you wearing contacts?” I asked. Oops. I hope that wasn’t rude. 

Edward blinked in surprise. “No,” The way he said it, with a lilt towards the end, made it sound like a question.

“Oh,” I mumbled. “I just thought there was something different about your eyes.”

He shrugged. “They are kind of a weird color, right? I think it’s genetic.” 

I was sure that it was something other than a mutated brown color, though. I could distinctly remember the black color of his eyes the first time I had seen him. The stark contrast between his hateful stare and the pallor of his face. Only today, his eyes weren’t black. They were a dark butterscotch color, the golden tone that shone in them complimented his bronze hair. I couldn’t make sense of how that could be. Unless he was lying about the contacts. Maybe I had just imagined the darkness of his eyes in my anxiety. 

I glanced down. Edward’s hands were clenched into fists. Only for a moment. Then they smoothed out and he smiled at me. I almost forgot to be suspicious of him. 

Ms. Ramone came to check our work. She squinted at the paper then frowned at Edward. “You didn’t share with your partner, Edward?” She asked, looking at the worksheet holding only Edward’s elegant handwriting on it.

“Bella actually identified three out of five of the slides, Ms. Ramone,” Edward said with a charming smile.

She turned to me then. “Well done, Bella. Have you taken this class before?”

“Not with onion root,” I admitted with a sheepish smile.

“Whitefish?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded. “Were you an advanced placement student in your last school?”

“Only in science and English.” I couldn’t help being a little proud.

“I suppose it’s good that you and Edward are partnered, then.” She said with a small chuckle, moving on to check Mike and Tara’s work. I began to doodle on my notebook again, filling in little details to my drawing from before.

“Too bad about the snow, huh?” Edward asked, his musical voice jarring me out of my thoughts. I hated small talk, and I had the feeling he was only forcing himself to be polite to me, anyway.

“Not really,” I mumbled, past bothering to hide my irritation with the weather.

“You don’t like the cold?”

“Or the wet.”

“It doesn’t sound like Forks is your kind of place, then.” He said, thoughtfully.

“You have no idea,” I grumbled, glancing at the window and privately shooing the clouds away.

He looked like I had said something incredibly profound. I impossibly tried not to be distracted by his expression.

“So why’d you move here?” His voice was pure curiosity. He didn’t want to know because I was the shiny new toy, gossip for his friends. He seemed genuinely interested and no one had bothered to ask me that yet, especially so pointedly. It took me by surprise.

“Um.”

“You don’t have to tell me.” It looked like he couldn’t bear not knowing.

I hesitated but met his eyes. His golden gaze captivated me, and I blurted out an answer without even thinking about it. 

“My mom got married.”

“Oh, and you didn’t like the guy?” 

“No, Phil’s great. Really.”

“So why didn’t you stay with them?” Edward’s voice was still burning with curiosity, but there was an underlying kindness to it. 

It didn’t make any sense why he was so interested. He was staring at me like I was holding the answers to the universe. If he was always this intense, it was going to give me whiplash the next time he decided that he was going to be hostile.

“Phil’s a minor league baseball player, so he travels a lot.” I smiled, remembering piling into his van with my mom to travel with them. It had been fun, for a while.

“Is he famous?” Edward asked in a light tone.

“I don’t think you’ll have heard of him.”

“So your mother sent you here so that she could travel with her new husband?” Edward tried to untangle the threads of my story.

I shook my head, almost insulted. “No,” I said indignantly, “I sent myself.”

His brows furrowed. “I don’t get it.”

I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him anyway?  _ Why  _ did he care?

“Well. She stayed home with me for a while, but she missed him. It made her unhappy, that didn’t work. So the three of us traveled together for a while. That was fun, but it wasn’t…” I struggled to find the right word, “Stable. So I decided that it was time that I came to be with my dad.” I tried not to sound glum about being stuck in Forks because the truth was that I really  _ was  _ glad to spend time with Charlie. I just wished we got to spend time together somewhere else.

“But you’re not happy.” He said simply.

“So?” I raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not fair,” He shrugged, but their eyes hadn’t lost their intensity. “It sucks.”

“Life’s not fair.” I deadpanned, resisting the urge to childishly stick my tongue out at him. “Why’s it matter to you anyway?”

“Good question.” He muttered. That seemed like the only answer I was going to get. I couldn’t understand how this bizarre, beautiful boy had gotten me to reveal more about my life to him than anyone else had. And there was still the mystery of whether or not he hated me. He had seemed friendly enough during our conversation, but I could see him leaning away from me now, hands curled into fists again. 

I tried to at least look like I was paying attention to Ms. Ramone’s debriefing. 

When the bell  _ finally  _ rang, Edward swiftly took his leave. He moved gracefully, like a large cat on the prowl. I stared after him in amazement and Mike took this as an opportunity to hop to my side.

“That sucked!” He groaned. “I couldn’t tell any of ‘em apart. You’re lucky you had Cullen to do it for you.” 

“I identified half of ours,” I snapped at Mike, stung by his comment and frustrated by Edward. Immediately, I regretted taking out my strange mood on him. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” He said, holding his hands up in surrender. 

He changed the subject to the beach trip, lamenting that the snow from earlier indicated that it was still too cold to go. His chattering just couldn’t hold my attention as we walked to the gym. He was on my team today, and graciously let me sit out. 

A mist was gathering in the parking lot, the melting snow turning to steam under the little bit of afternoon sun that peeked through the clouds. Students streamed through the mist, making their way to their cars, or the one bus that the school provided. I took my time, looking contemplatively at my truck as I approached it. I thought about naming it if it had enough personality to warrant it. Time would tell on that. As per my new routine, I hopped into the cab and turned the heater on high. My cold hands warmed in front of the vents before fluffing up my damp hair so it would dry out on the short drive home.

Before backing up, I looked around to make sure no one was behind me. I noticed a still, pale figure in my mirror. Edward was leaning against his Ford, staring right at me. My heart jolted in my chest, causing my foot to jump off the clutch-- the engine stalled. I groaned and rolled my eyes. Turning the engine over again and cautiously pulling out, Edward was gone from view, but I could swear I heard him laughing.


	3. Not My Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully from here on we'll see my version of Bella taking shape, and begin to see all those little changes from canon I'm so excited to write! Forgive the excessive use of italics, I needed the emphasis lol!

There was a crispness to the air, and no fog blocked the view of the forest from the window. Instead of my beloved sunshine, there was an even layer of snow dusting the yard, my truck, and surely the rest of the town. Not only that, but the rain from yesterday had frozen, creating a sheet of ice on the road and the driveway. Pine needles made complex, spiky designs on their branches. This was the worst-case scenario I had imagined when packing in Phoenix only a week ago. I longed for the sun of my home, I was clumsy enough on dry ground- ice was especially dangerous for me.

Charlie worked early, often leaving at five in the morning, so it sometimes felt like I was living alone. Instead of resenting Charlie for it- like I had with Renee- I found myself enjoying the alone time. I had a quick breakfast, rushing in the excitement to go to school. This was the first time I had _wanted_ to go to Forks High, and it was a little unnerving. It wasn’t the classes or my new friends that inspired this sudden drive in me. Deep down, I knew it was because of the Cullens. I was excited to talk to Edward and unravel the mystery of his family. After blabbing about my whole life to him yesterday, he owed me some answers about his; I was suspicious of him. Why did he lie to me about his eyes? And when I thought back to his glare from the previous week, it scared me. Still, he was so beautiful, and friendlier now. I got tongue-tied just thinking of his face, the topaz color of his eyes.

While navigating the ice to get to my truck, I only fell once. I had to hold on to the door handle to maintain my balance when clambering in. It was becoming clear that today was not going to be my day.

My thoughts wandered not to the mysterious Cullen family, or the very real possibility of slipping on ice, but to my new friends. How people were reacting to me here. I’d noticed the appreciative looks from some of the boys of Forks High, but it didn’t make any sense. I looked the same as I always had. Maybe back home, people had seen me at my most awkward and still thought of me that way, not that I was less awkward now. Maybe it was because I was still new around here. Maybe Mike would get bored of me soon. Whatever the reason, his clinginess wasn’t something I had been prepared to deal with. I was glad to have been adopted into such a large group of friends, though. There was always someone to talk to.

It seemed an unexpected positive to driving a steel truck was the ease with which it drove over the ice. The weight prevented a lot of sliding. I parked at the back end of the lot and carefully climbed out of my truck. A glint of silver at the corner of my eye caught my attention. After holding on to the edge of the truck and inching my way closer, I crouched to peer at my tire. Had I driven over a nail? 

No, there wasn't a nail sticking out of my tire, but a thin, spiked chain crisscrossing over the rubber. No wonder it had driven with such ease. Charlie must have gotten up even earlier than normal to put the chains on. I felt myself getting choked up. Would Charlie’s little acts of kindness ever stop taking me by surprise? As I stood, fighting back this rush of emotion, there was a deafening, shrill screech. My head whipped around, and I observed several things vividly-- my brain seemed to be working double, maybe triple, speed.

Half a dozen cars away, Edward Cullen was staring at me with a look of undiluted horror on his beautiful face. Others were standing around him, but their faces blurred into a sea of blank features; something more pressing needed my attention. A large blue van hurtled towards me, sliding on the sheet of ice that was the parking lot. It was headed for the back corner of my truck. Right where I was standing in fact. The van’s tires were locked, brakes squealing in protest. There was no way to stop this van from hitting me. I wouldn't even have time to blink. Bullseye

Before the van's impact, something else hit me. Hard. It wasn’t from the front, where the van continued it's dangerous course, I was slammed sideways. My head bounced off the blacktop with a sickening _crack_. I couldn’t move, pinned behind the car I had parked next to, and the van was _still_ coming.

It hit the corner of my truck and was spinning towards me for a second time.

Something was out to get me today.

“You've got to be _fucking_ kidding me.” Someone muttered, causing me to jolt. How had I not noticed someone right next to me? The voice was familiar, and when paired with two pale hands shooting out in front of me, there was no mistaking who it was. The van skidded to a stop right in front of me. Edward’s hands were pressed, seemingly unharmed, into a large dent in the side paneling of the van. Another sickening sound, more of a _crunch._

Time was still moving faster than normal, Edward’s hands were a blur. One practically teleported to the underside of the van, and the other swung me around until I bumped the unharmed car I had parked next to. Another metallic screech pierced my ears and the van finally seemed to settle. Glass tinkled onto the blacktop, right where I had been laying.

There was a collective hush for three whole seconds. Then someone screamed. I could hear both Angela and Jessica shouting my name, other classmates scrambling to call 911, and others still- calling for the adults. Staff members’ feet pounded on the pavement as they came running. Above all that noise, I could hear Edward speaking to me intently.

“Bella, are you alright?”

“I’m…” My voice was thick. “Fine.” I tried to sit up and realized that what was pinning me down was Edward himself. He was holding me in an unbreakable vice.

“Careful,” He warned. “It looked like you hit your head pretty hard.” Oh, yeah. I was suddenly aware of my head pounding, centered around my left temple.

“Ouch,” I grimaced.

“Yeah, I thought so.” It sounded like he was suppressing a laugh, and a quick peek up confirmed his smirk.

“Wait…” I reached up and pushed my hair back from my face as I tried to collect myself. “How did you get over here so quickly?”

“What do you mean?” His face immediately lost any sign of amusement. “I was right here.”

This time, Edward allowed me to sit up. He then slid as far away as he could in the small space. Despite this, I could only decipher concern in his eyes. My brain was once again fogged up by his intense gaze. Or maybe that was the head injury. 

What were we talking about again?

That’s when the crowd broke through to us. Some had tears on their face, others were shouting to get back or come closer.

“Don’t move,” Someone, I think it was the gym teacher, instructed.

“Get Tyler!” Someone else yelled, this time Mike.

There were too many people, their movements frenzied, and Edward was pressing on my shoulder again. I tried to focus on my breathing.

"Just stay still," He ordered.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” I said, irritated. That was good. If I focused on the irritation, I wouldn’t get overwhelmed by, well, everything. So, I stubbornly pressed on, knowing I was right.

“Bella,” He sounded exasperated. A perfectly delivered tone, as though he were an actor. “I was walking right by you, I pulled you out of the way.” He turned the full force of his gaze on me as if trying to tell me something without speaking.

Drop the subject.

“No,” I insisted.

“Please, just drop it.”

“No.” I set my jaw.

“ _Trust me_ ,” He pleaded, and combined with the force of his gaze, I almost gave in. Then I heard the sirens in the distance.

“I’m not dropping it.” We would have to finish this another time. “Explain later?”

“Fine.”

“Fine.” I snapped.

It took a team of EMTs, and a couple of staff members, to move the van away from us. Then they brought the stretchers in. I almost wished I had been knocked out so I didn’t have to see everyone staring at us. Edward refused a stretcher but when I tried to do the same, the jerk told them that I had hit my head. 

They put me in a neck brace, strapped me onto a stretcher, and loaded me into the ambulance. By now, it seemed like the whole school had arrived, and they were all watching. I waved to Angela to let her know I was okay and she answered me with a shaky smile. Because Edward wasn’t in a stretcher, he got to ride shotgun. I was fuming.

To make things even more embarrassing, Charlie arrived before the ambulance could drive away.

“Bella!” The panic overrode the Cop Voice, cutting down his intimidation factor.

“Char- dad, I’m okay. Really.” 

He turned to get an opinion from one of the EMTs. I rolled my eyes. Fine. While Charlie spoke to the EMT, I had time to consider what had happened. From the back of the ambulance, I could see a dent in the car next to my truck that hadn’t been there when I parked next to it. It was a distinct shape, humanlike. It looked like Edward had braced his back against it to stop the van. But it was impossible. He couldn’t have stopped the van and he shouldn’t have dented the car. He would've died. Then there were the other Cullens. They had watched the accident with varying degrees of surprise, disapproval, and anger, but no concern for their brother or his safety. I tried to think of a logical reason for all of this but I couldn’t quite make all the pieces fit together. Maybe I had started to go crazy.

It was just my luck the ambulances receive police escorts when they go to the county hospital, I felt ridiculous the whole time. As if to rub salt in the wound, Edward just waltzed right into the front doors of the hospital all on his own, whereas I had to be unloaded from the back. I clenched my fists. They sent me to the Emergency Room, of course. A long room with rows of beds separated by cheerfully patterned curtains and nurses bustling about. They took my blood pressure and temperature.

I tore the neck brace off, feeling defiant, as soon as the nurse walked away, and stashed it under my pillow.

Just as I was getting settled, another round of chaos kicked up. Tyler Crowly had arrived. They put him in the bed right next to mine. He had a bloody bandage around his head and looked a hundred times worse than I felt. 

“Bella, I am so sorry!”

“Tyler, I’m okay, but look at you! Are you okay?” I asked, worrying my lip between my teeth. We talked as the nurses began to work on Tyler. They unwound the bandages, exposing a triad of slices over his forehead and left cheek.

He dodged my question. “I thought you were gonna die, Bella, I was going too fast,” His words began to blur together, “And I hit the ice funny, and,” The nurse started carefully picking glass out of Tyler’s wounds with a small pair of tweezers.

“Tyler, I’m okay.” I insisted.

“How did you even get out of the way? It was like you teleported.”

I hesitated for a beat. “Edward pulled me out of the way. Cullen.” I winced at how unnatural I sounded. 

“Really? I didn’t even see him.” Tyler frowned. “God, it happened so fast. Is he okay?”

“Yeah,” I said sourly, “They didn’t make him use a stretcher or anything.”

I knew I wasn’t crazy! Tyler hadn’t seen Edward there because he _hadn’t been there._ But what had happened, then? How did he get there so fast? It didn’t make sense. 

Soon, I was wheeled off to get my head x-rayed. I insisted again that I was fine, but Charlie overrode my word. I was right, there weren't any signs of damage in my scans. I asked if I could go home, but the nurse said I needed to see a doctor, just in case. So I was stuck, listening to Tyler babble apologies over and over. Eventually, I resorted to pretending to fall asleep just to get him to leave me alone.

Some time later, a soft musical voice cut through my half-sleep, and Tyler’s frantic mumbling. “Is she sleeping?” It took everything in my power to not bolt up like I’d been shocked.

Edward was standing at the foot of my hospital bed, a smirking angel. I halfheartedly glared at him.

“Edward! I’m so sorry, man, I lost control on the ice-” Tyler turned his stream of apologies on someone else, finally.

“No worries,” He waved one hand casually, “At least you didn’t hit anyone.” He flashed a set of sparkling teeth, then sat on the foot of Tyler’s bed, facing me. 

“So? How are you feeling?”

“I _told_ you,” I sighed. “There’s nothing remotely wrong with me, but they won’t release me until I see a doctor. Why aren’t you being monitored like me and Tyler here, huh?”

“It’s all about the connections,” Edward told me, clicking his tongue twice. “Luckily, I’m your connection.”

He looked towards the ER doors, and I followed his gaze. A young doctor breezed in, and my mouth almost dropped open. He was the youngest looking doctor I’d ever seen, and more attractive than half the movie stars I could name off the top of my head. These things, in addition to his paleness and golden eyes, indicated that this was Dr. Cullen, Edward’s uncle. 

“Isabella!” The doctor said in a cheerful voice. “How are you feeling?”

“It’s Bella, and I’m fine. Seriously.” I was getting too tired to keep up much of a polite mask, but I smiled at the man.

“Bella, then.” He nodded and moved to switch on the board that displayed my x-rays, “Your x-rays don’t indicate a break, which is, of course, good news. Edward said that your head hit the curb pretty hard, are you in pain?”

I glared at Edward, who was innocently in conversation with Tyler, and didn’t even notice. “No. I feel fine.”

Either my word wasn’t good enough, or Dr. Cullen was a stickler about procedure because he started to lightly probe around my skull. When his cool fingers made contact with my throbbing left temple, I winced.

“You’re sure your head doesn’t hurt?” He asked, raising a brow. 

“I’ve had worse.” I shrugged. “Clumsy.”

“I heard the chief arrive as I came through, you can head on home with him. But, Bella, if you start to feel dizzy or sick, I’d like for you to come back.”

I held back a groan. “You mean I can’t go back to school?”

“I think you should take it easy for the rest of the day.”

I glanced between Edward and the doctor. “Well, does _he_ get to go back?”

“Someone has to recount our tale of glory,” Edward said, smirking.

“Frankly, I’m surprised they didn’t just close school for the day,” Dr. Cullen said with an amused smile. “It looked to me that most of the student body was in our waiting room.”

I groaned, rubbing a hand over my face.

“Would you rather stay here?” 

“No!” I scrambled out of the bed before he could try to convince me.

Lady luck was just out to get me today. I slipped on the linoleum and Dr. Cullen steadied me by the shoulder, looking concerned. Edward, however, looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“I’m _fine,_ ” I promised again. He had no idea how clumsy I was, even on the days without head injuries. 

“Some over the counter painkillers will do you just fine- if you need them.” The doctor suggested, stepping back. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

”Well, Miss Swan, it appears luck was on your side today.” He said, signing my chart. I almost laughed, hysterically thinking that the doctor might have read my mind, and ironically commented on my luck. 

“Lucky Edward pulled me out of the way, you mean.” I corrected, with a side glance to the aforementioned classmate.

“Yes, of course. Now, if you can excuse me…” He trailed off awkwardly, shuffling his papers and moving on to speak to Tyler. I narrowed my eyes. Whatever Edward was hiding, the doctor was in on it. “Tyler, it looks like we’re going to be taking you in for x-rays, you’re be stuck here a little while longer."

As soon as I was sure he was done with me, I rounded on Edward.

“Can we talk?” I asked in a low voice. He blinked, before taking a distinct step away from me. 

“I thought you wanted to get home.” He countered tensely.

“Home will still be there in five minutes. Let’s talk.” I paused before adding, “Please?”

I honestly hadn’t thought that was going to work, but Edward’s glare softened, and he sharply turned to march down the hallway. I slid on the linoleum when I hurried after him, and when he suddenly stopped- I bumped into his back. 

“Oops, sorry,” 

“Can you at least watch where you’re going?” He asked, glaring at me. The hostility had finally made a comeback, then. It was bound to happen sometime if his past behavior was an indicator. I didn’t back down. 

“Look, you promised to tell me how you saved me.”

“I saved your life, does the ‘how’ really matter?”

Grinding my teeth, I leaned forward. “You promised.” I reminded him.

“Bella, come on!” He was getting impatient, maybe he’d slip up. “I don’t know what to tell you, I was standing right by you. You must have hit your head really hard.” 

“I don’t even have a concussion, so it seems pretty unlikely that I imagined you _on the other side of the parking lot._ ” I hissed. 

“Can’t you just let it go?” He turned to pleading now. 

“No! I just want answers - I’ll tell people you pulled me out of the way, if you want. That’s not even a lie. But you _were_ standing next to your car across the lot, all I want to know is how you got to me so fast.”

“What do you think the truth is? Clearly, you won’t accept my word.” 

“I _know_ the truth,” I insisted, speaking in a quiet rush. “I _know_ you were six cars down from me, standing next to your car. Tyler didn’t see you next to me. That van should have killed me - should have killed you! - But it didn’t. Your hands, your back, left a dent in the cars. You should be all kinds of,” I lowered my voice as a nurse walked by, “Fucked up. My legs should have been crushed, but you pushed me out of the way, you held the van up to do it.” How dare he try to convince me none of this had happened? 

Edward was staring at me like I had lost my mind, but his eyes were cold; defensive. 

“You think I’m strong enough to do something like that?” He asked, velvet voice twisted into a kind of surprised sneer that made me just want to slap him. I didn’t buy it for a second.

“Like I said,” I snapped, “I _know_.” My hands were tense at my side, a focused effort. 

“You _know_ that sounds crazy, right?” He asked, patronizing now, “No one would believe you.”

“I…” blinked up at him, “wasn’t going to tell anyone.”

“Then why do you even care?”

“I could have died, but I was impossibly saved. Don’t I deserve to know how?”

“Can’t you just be glad instead?” He pleaded. 

“Thank you!” I snapped, throwing my arms up in exasperation before crossing them over my chest.

“You’re not letting this go.”

“Not even a little.” 

“You’re not going to get any answers.” 

I glared at him for a long time. He raised a brow, like he was waiting for something. I tried not to be distracted by the way his hair caught the light or the shape of his lips. It was like having a staring contest with a beautiful statue.

“Why did you do it?” I finally asked. 

It was my turn to take him off guard. It looked like he short-circuited for a moment, fumbling for an answer. 

“I don’t know,” He said, turning on his heel and walking away. 

My body shook with anger. I deserved to have answers when it came to matters of life and death. When I gathered myself, I slowly made my way to the double doors at the end of the hallway. The waiting room was more crowded than I had thought possible. It really did look like the whole school was here, and it was more people than I thought. They were waiting for news. Waiting for me, Tyler, or even Edward. The first person to make it to my side was Charlie, and for that I was grateful.

“I’m okay,” I reassured him before he could even ask. 

Instead, he just wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight for a long minute. 

“What did the doctor say?” He asked when he finally stepped back. I tried to hold in a sigh. It wasn’t Charlie’s fault I was in a bad mood.

“Dr. Cullen saw me. He said I was okay, not even a concussion. He said I should go home, but to come back if I feel sick.” I recited in a dull voice. Mike, Jessica, and Angela were pushing their way through the crowd-- towards us. “Can we go? Please?” 

He took pity on me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and leading me to the automatic doors. I waved meekly at my friends, hoping they would just let us pass by. And despite hating to ride in the cruiser under normal circumstances, I was relieved to do so, just to get home. 

While he dove, Charlie rambled about how he had been worried about me, how glad he was that I was okay, but right now I could only think of the Cullens and what they were hiding. Edward’s defensiveness was only confirmation that I was onto something. 

We parked in front of the house but when I tried to get out, Charlie cleared his throat and looked at me sheepishly. “You… might want to call your mom.”

“You told her?” I groaned. 

“Sorry, it’s in the Dad Handbook.”

I indulged in a little bit of teen melodrama and slammed the door when I got out. It had been a long day, and Charlie would forgive the outburst.

Renee was hysterical when I called. It took more than a dozen reassurances that I was fine before she would even listen to me. She begged me to buy a ticket to Phoenix - she would meet me there, she promised - but I resisted. The mystery of the Cullens consumed me, even if Edward was beginning to piss me off. It felt stupid and dangerous, but it kept me grounded to Forks. 

The best thing to do would be to go to bed early and reassure my parents with the extra bed rest. I took a couple of Tylenol - my head was beginning to hurt in earnest after that phone call - after changing and brushing my teeth. Charlie checked on me three times that night. 

When I did finally sleep, my mind was still plagued with thoughts of the Cullens.


	4. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there's a nightmare

The forest was dark and deep, and silent. Not a cricket chirped, no owls hooting from above, not even the sound of the usual breeze rustling the leaves. A path stretched infinitely in front of me lit only by the light of the moon. To squash the nerves creeping up on me, I walked slowly and scanned the treeline for anything that may be creeping up on me. There was a figure in the distance. If I squinted, I could barely make out that it was Edward Cullen. He seemed to be glowing slightly, moonbeams refracting off his skin.

"Edward?" I called, flinching as the silence was broken.

I tried to rush towards him but closed no distance between us. He turned on his heel and walked away. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t catch up to him; No matter how loud I yelled, he never stopped or even looked back. 

Some immeasurable, frustrating amount of time later, the other Cullens emerged from the darkness on each side of the path, one by one. Alice’s usual dance-like movements were pointed and jerky, like a creepy double-jointed doll. Jasper moved rigidly, like a soldier in formation. Emerging from behind them, Emmett’s rolling muscles sent shivers down my spine. Was he bigger than before? When Rosalie joined them, she walked between her twin and Edward, shimmering more brightly than the others. They were terrifying and hypnotic.

I raced after the strange family, never gaining any ground, until each of them disappeared back into the woods- leaving me alone.

A gust of wind lifted the curtains in my room, jolting me awake. Unsettled, I padded over to the window to close it. Nothing was staring at me from the darkness, and no one was illuminated by the dim street light down the road, but I couldn't help feeling like I was being watched. I pulled the curtains closed, but couldn’t get back to sleep for a long time.

After that, at least one of the Cullens featured in my dreams. Sometimes, it was just one of them; sometimes it was all of them. Most commonly, Edward was the star of my dreams. They always stayed just out of reach, leaving me in the dark.

oOoOoOo

The weeks that followed the accident were uneasy and awkward, with me as the unfortunate center of attention. Tyler seemed intent on making amends with me when all I wanted was to move on. Despite my insistence that I hadn’t even gotten hurt, and it was _fine,_ Tyler walked me to almost all my classes for the first week following the accident. Mike wasn’t very warm to the idea of sharing my attention, and poor Angela was the target of my now frequent eye rolls as the boys fumbled over one another for my attention. 

With people so worried about my condition after the accident, it was strange that no one mentioned Edward. I repeated over and over that he saved me, and deserved all the attention I was getting. My friends were convinced they hadn’t seen him anywhere near the accident until after the van had been cleared away for the ambulance. This meant that Jess, Mike, and Eric all validated my argument that he hadn’t been near me.

Briefly, I wondered if I was losing my mind. My friends hadn’t seen Edward near me, but they hadn’t mentioned seeing him anywhere else either. Maybe I was the only one who paid such close attention to the Cullen family and their whereabouts. Did no one else search the room for them like I did?

Edward was never swarmed by people demanding to hear his version of the tale or asking nosy questions about his recovery. Just the same as always, people ignored him. The Cullens sat at their usual table, no one approaching them. They talked, worked on their assignments, and picked at their food-- though I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen one of them eat something. The only thing that had changed with the Cullens since the accident was that none of them ever looked in my direction anymore. Not even Alice, who always seemed to have a bright smile when she noticed me looking. 

In class, Edward had returned to leaning as far away from me as the space allowed and never speaking to me; he ignored my very presence. Sometimes I would see him tense up like he was in pain, or rubbing his temples like he had a headache. The only thing that I could imagine that would cause this shift in behavior was regret. Edward wished he hadn’t saved me from being crushed by the van because he knew that I wasn’t going to stop pressing him for information until I found out what the Cullens were hiding. 

I wanted nothing more than to just talk to him. When I tried-- the day after the accident-- it didn’t go well.

He was already in his seat when I arrived at our shared class, looking straight ahead with not even a flicker of a glance in my direction. 

“Hey, Edward,” I said in faux casualty. 

He barely looked at me but nodded ever so slightly. That was it. 

That was the last conversation I’d shared with him, even though I sat next to him every day. I couldn’t help but peek at him from behind my hair, or over my book, whenever given the opportunity. Only from a distance, of course. Still, I watched with a close eye. Sometimes, the others would miss class, but Edward remained. I watched as his eyes changed slowly from a soft gold to a hard black as the days went on. The silent treatment was torture, and to make matters worse, I still dreamed about them.

It wasn’t just me who noticed the atmosphere between myself and Edward. Mike was positively thrilled by it and took every chance to chat with me before and after class. It was obvious that he had been worried that Edward’s supposed daring rescue would impress me. 

It was halfway through May when the last frost of the season passed, though it never truly snowed again. Certainly not enough to cancel school. Mike and Jessica were disappointed that they hadn’t had an all-out snowball war but perked up when Angela reminded them that the improved weather meant Mike could move forward with the beach plans. To my dismay, the rain remained. 

In my emails to Renee, I tried to make it seem like I was happy and adjusting to Forks well. This entailed some lying, which I hated to do; and which she saw through easily. She called a couple of times to remind me that I could always come home and she would be right there. I tried to convince her that I would be happier once Spring was in full swing and the sun decided to stick around for good. Besides, I reminded her, graduation was only a month away. It wouldn’t make sense to go home now.

Jess reminded me of another event besides Mike’s impending beach trip and graduation. The second Friday of May, she called to ask what I thought about her asking Mike to the prom.

“Are you sure you weren’t going to ask him?” She pressed. 

“Jess, go for it! Besides, I didn’t even know there was going to be a dance, and you know I’d just sprain an ankle.” I reassured her. 

She giggled a little, probably remembering one of my many clumsy incidents at school. “Maybe you’re right, but it’ll be fun. You should come with us.” Third-wheeling her and Mike was the opposite of my idea of a fun evening.

“No, that’s alright, you’ll have your hands full.” 

When Jessica didn’t come bounding up to me in Trig on Monday, I was surprised. We didn’t speak between classes, and when she didn’t speak to me much in Spanish either I began to worry. Surely Mike hadn’t turned her down. Even if he did, that wouldn’t be enough to ruin our burgeoning friendship, right?

During lunch, my worries were confirmed when Jess sat at the end of the table with Tyler, and Mike sat- unusually quiet -next to Eric. 

“I’m just saying, it’s weird that Beavis and Butthead got a spin-off show!” Tyler said. 

“Maybe, but I think it’s funny,” Angela said, “And I like _Daria,_ she reminds me of Bella.” 

“Smart and sarcastic, but badly dressed?” Jess quipped.

“Hey!” I objected.

“She’s just kidding, and it’s not like you need to look like a model for school,” Angela patted my hand lightly before continuing, “Anyway, I think it’s smarter than Beavis and Butthead.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re a girl! You just don’t get it,” Tyler shook his head in mock disappointment.

“Watch it, Tyler,” Lauren warned, arching a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him. Her previously long, blonde hair had recently been chopped off in favor of a darker, spiky, just-rolled-out-of-bed look. It felt like a rebellion in a small town like Forks.

After lunch, Mike walked me to class as usual but he was still quiet. There was a determined look on his face that sent dread curling in my stomach. He didn’t say a word until after I had taken my seat in the Biology classroom. He perched on the corner of my desk, effectively trapping me between himself and Edward. 

“So,” He drew out the word for a good three seconds, “Did Jess tell you she asked me to the dance?” He asked, scuffing the linoleum floor with the toe of his shoe.

“That’s great!” I beamed at him, hoping to dissuade him from doing what I knew he was about to do. “She’s really excited.”

“Oh,” Mike paused, considering this. “Well, I told her that I’d have to think about it.”

“How come?” 

“I was sort of wondering…” He trailed off and I felt a pang of pity for him, rapidly followed by annoyance. “Well, were you planning on asking anyone? Or, going?” 

I internally groaned. MIke, no! I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I just didn’t think of him that way... I tried not to feel guilty. From the corner of my eye, Edward straightened up, clearly listening in on our conversation.

“I think you should go to the dance with her, Mike,” I said, not a rejection, but a clear indicator that I wasn’t interested.

“Are you going with someone else?”

“I’m not going at all,” I said with a shrug. Mike’s face fell. “C’mon, you know dancing isn't a good idea for me.”

“I guess so,” He mumbled. “Do you have other plans?”

“Yeah, sorry,” I said, “But I think Jess really likes you, and you’d have fun with her.” 

Mike nodded and mumbled something else I didn’t catch. He dejectedly made his way back to his seat and I had to force myself not to groan and hide my face in my hands. Ms. Ramone called for our attention-- thankfully giving me a distraction.

I could only focus on class for a few minutes, though, because soon Edward turned his head to stare right at me. He was wearing a familiar mask of frustration, his eyes still black as coal. He didn’t back down when he was caught. Instead, he continued to stare at me with shocking intensity, a probing question. Like I was something to figure out. I couldn’t break our gaze, the air around us electric. 

“Mr. Cullen?” Ms. Ramone called out, “Perhaps you’d know the answer?”

“It’s the…” Edward looked away finally, facing the teacher, “The Krebs Cycle, right?”

I looked down, staring at my shaking, entangled hands. Trying to seem casual, I tossed my hair over my left shoulder, shielding my face from any further scrutiny. My heart was hammering in my chest. Just because it had been six weeks since the last time Edward had looked at me… Well, that wasn’t any reason to get worked up. 

The electric feeling lingered in the air for the rest of the class. It was impossible not to steal looks at my partner, I was more than aware of his presence. 

Finally, _finally,_ the bell rang. I gathered my things, expecting Edward to bolt to the door, as had become his custom. 

“Bella?”

My response to his voice was ridiculous, I sat bolt upright in my seat and whipped around to face him. To recover my cool, my attention was returned to shoving my notebook into my bag. “Oh, are we talking again?” 

“Not really,” He admitted, sounding like he was holding in a chuckle. I slowly faced him, and couldn’t read his expression.

So I rolled my eyes, and he waited patiently for me to speak.

“So what do you want?” I tiredly rubbed a hand over my face. 

“I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I know I’ve been terribly rude to you, but I promise it’s for your own good,” He sounded sincere and looked very serious. I wanted to believe him. 

“For my own good?” I repeated dubiously.

“It would be best for you if we weren’t friends.” He said simply.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s not like you’ve actually tried to be my friend.” 

“What do you mean?” 

I lowered my voice, speaking intently to him. “You’ve been weird towards me since I got here. You can’t decide if you want to talk to me or ignore me, you save my life and then decide we can’t be friends? What the hell, man?”

I ground my teeth together, trying to keep my temper as I stood and pulled my bag over my shoulder. The intent was to make a dramatic exit but as I stomped out, I tripped on the door jamb and nearly fell face-first onto the floor. An icy hand darted out to my shoulder and steadied me, before pulling away just as quickly. I thought about stomping away again and sighed.

“Thanks,” I ground out. 

“You’re welcome,” 

I hurried off without looking back-- and without Mike latched to my side. 

Gym was brutal. Today was worse than usual because my thoughts were still spinning over Edward. I really did try to concentrate, but a vision of his coal-black eyes would pop into my head at just the wrong moment. 

We played basketball. I fell down a lot. On one occasion, someone from the opposing team tossed me the ball - expecting me to drop it, and their teammate next to me to catch it and progress the game. This made me stumble, and the ball _did_ bounce away as planned, but also I became entangled with another student. We tumbled to the ground and cost our team a point. 

It was as much of a relief to my classmates as it was to me when the final bell rang. I knew it would lead to me falling again, but I ran to my truck. My new friends and I had affectionately nicknamed it “Bullseye” since that’s what I had thought when Tyler’s truck had been hurtling towards it. Shockingly, Bullseye hadn’t taken much damage in the accident-- just needing new taillights, and maybe a new paint job-- if I cared about that. Tyler’s parents had ended up selling the van and handing him down their old four-door sedan. 

A tall figure was leaning against the side of my truck. My heart hammered in my chest until I realized it was just Eric. 

“Hey!” I called, waving at him.

“Bella, hey!” 

“What’s up?” I asked, passing him by and yanking the driver’s side door open. The crime rate in Forks was so low that I didn’t bother to lock my doors during school and, besides, I had nothing worth stealing, anyway. 

“Well, I was just thinking,” Eric started, and my stomach churned. Please, no. I tried to think of a way to stop him from asking me out before he could do it. “...Do you think I should ask Angela to the dance?” 

Oh. This was much simpler. “Are you asking me if she wants you to?” 

“Maybe,” He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"She hasn't really mentioned prom," I mused, "Do you want to take her?"

"I brought it up didn't I?"

I smiled at him. “Sure, Eric, take the initiative. I bet you two would have a nice time.” 

“I’m sure she’d like it if you came, too! We could make it a group thing.” 

“Thanks, but I wasn’t planning on going,” I said. 

“Oh, do you have plans?” He asked, sounding genuinely interested. This was a nice contrast to Mike, who I felt had only asked to put me on the spot.

Truth be told, I didn’t have any plans for Saturday, the day of the dance. Maybe I should come up with something, plans would be a good excuse in case this happened again. I came up with something on the spot. “Yeah,” My smile brightened. “I’m going to Seattle.”

“Seattle’s cool,” Eric said, “I bet you’ll find all the good bookstores.” 

“That's the plan,” I said before sliding into the truck. “I’ll see you later, alright?”

He nodded and headed off to the bus line.

As Eric walked away, Edward passed by, humming under his breath. I ground my teeth together, irritation returning. I slammed the door shut harder than strictly necessary. I revved the engine loudly and started to pull out from my spot. Edward reached his car, deftly pulling out in front of me before just idling in place. With another jolt of irritation, I realized he was waiting for his siblings to join him. The four of them were walking in this direction, clearly not in any rush. 

For a moment, I considered plowing right into the shiny rear end of Edward’s Ford. But two accidents in the same month would do terrible things to Charlie’s insurance, so I remained in place. A line was now forming behind me, Tyler Crowley waving at me from his new-to-him car. I ignored him since there was nothing I could do.

I got so lost in forcing myself to look anywhere but the car in front of me- The way moisture shined on the leaves of the ferns outside, the group of kids kicking something small around in a circle, and a bird circling the main building- that a knock on my window startled me. Tyler was standing at my door, having abandoned his own running car, door open! My brows knit themselves together, and I cranked the window down.

“Sorry, Tyler, I don’t mean to hold you up. I’m stuck behind--” My annoyed explanation was cut off

“Oh, no worries, Bell. I just wanted to talk to you while we’re stuck here,” He grinned good-naturedly at me.

I stared at him in horror. No way. 

“Do you wanna go to the prom with me?” He asked, and I almost groaned aloud. 

“Tyler. I’m not going to the dance at all,” I said, my patience wearing thin. It wasn’t Tyler’s fault that he was the second person to ask me out in the last forty-five minutes, I reminded myself.

“Oh, Mike mentioned that.” 

“Then why…?” 

He shrugged. “I guess I was hoping that you were just trying to make him feel better about being rejected.” 

“Sorry, Tyler,” I said, not feeling very sorry, “I really do have plans.”

“That’s cool." He said, still grinning confidently. I could feel the shock on my face. He was already jogging back to his car so I turned to face the road, shaking my head a bit to clear it. 

The four remaining Cullens were getting into Edward’s car. In his rearview mirror, I could see Edward’s eyes, searching. He caught my gaze and then burst into laughter. It looked like he couldn’t help himself. I grit my teeth, feeling my foot twitch towards the accelerator. One little tap wouldn’t hurt. Just enough to scratch up that nice paint job. I revved the engine, glowering. 

Edward sped off, with the car now full, still laughing. I muttered to myself about the dangers of moving to a small town with overly friendly teenage boys. At home, I decided to work on a lasagna. Pouring my emotions into making dinner was a good way to focus the energy, and would keep me busy.

Well, it would have been. While the meat and onions simmered, the phone rang. My mom wasn’t due to call until the weekend, and Charlie was still at work, so my heart jumped. Had something happened? Was Charlie okay? I snatched the phone from its hook. 

It was Jessica. She was once again in her usual bubbly mood, Mike had accepted her invitation to the dance. While I put together the sauce, I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder and celebrated with my friend. We chatted about Eric’s intention to ask Angela and I casually suggested that Tyler ask Lauren. She once again tried to talk me into attending, sounding sad when I reiterated my plans for Seattle. She apologized for shunning me at school, and we chatted about other things for a while, but soon she left in order to call the other girls and make plans with them.

Once the phone was in place on its hook, I arranged the pasta, sauce, and cheeses with almost religious focus while I analyzed, over and over, the conversation between myself and Edward. What did he mean, it would be better if we weren’t friends?

It was clear he was hiding something, and it was possible the whole family was in on it. 

Well, fine. If he couldn't keep his end of the bargain and tell me how he saved my life, then… I guess I could leave him alone, ignore the family and finish out my sentence in Forks with my perfectly normal friends. Hopefully, after graduation, I could return to Phoenix where I could enjoy the sun again. 

When Charlie got home from work, the scent of food caught his attention, and he wandered into the kitchen to peek in the oven with a hungry look on his face. My grandma Swan had been a master in the kitchen, and I hoped that mine would stand up to the lasagnas in my dad’s memory. I was glad to see his growing trust in my abilities in the kitchen. 

While we ate, Charlie told me about his workday: One domestic squabble, and six hours worth of paperwork.

"A position just opened up at the Quillayute Wildlife Refuge," Charlie said conversationally, "What d'you think of your old man swapping careers?"

"I think you should do whatever you want," An old mantra from Renee's many career choices.

"No, really, Bells." He prodded, gesturing at me with his fork.

"Are you not happy being a cop?"

"Sitting at a desk all day isn't as easy as it used to be," He admitted, "And when I do get called out, it's not for nothin' pleasant."

"Well, what would you be doing instead?" 

"Some of the stuff I get called in for now, plus some park maintenance stuff. And I'd get to see Billy and Harry more, too; they fish out at some of these parks, you know?"

"Sounds like a way better job for you, dad," I encouraged

He filled his plate for the second time, briefly questioning me about prom. When it became clear to him that I wasn't interested, he dropped the subject and focused on his food.

“Dad?” I asked, clearing my own plate and rinsing it off. 

“Yeah, hon?” 

“I just…” I considered my wording carefully. I was an adult, technically and I didn’t want to ask permission, but I also didn’t want to be rude. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m planning a trip up to Seattle next Saturday. If… that’s alright.”

“Your truck probably doesn’t have very good mileage,” He said dubiously. 

“I know. I can stop in Tacoma for gas.” 

“Are you goin’ by yourself?” He asked.

“Yep, just me.” 

“Seattle’s a big city. You sure you can get around alright?” 

“Phoenix is, like, five times bigger than Seattle,” I pointed out, amused.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with?”

“That’s alright. You’d probably just get tired of waiting around for me.” I reassured him with an easy smile. 

“Well… Alright. I’ll leave some gas money on the table.” 

“Thanks!” 

Four nights a week, Charlie and I spent together. At first, this meant watching some ball game on TV, but I had talked him into expanding his interests some. Sometimes we would play card games; I preferred poker, and Charlie liked rummy. One night, he promised, he would pull out the old Nintendo that my parents had bought for their first, and only, anniversary. The rest of the week, evenings were spent by ourselves. This was the time that I would spend writing to Renee, and finishing up any homework before bed. Tonight was one of the latter, we cleaned up dinner and washed the dishes together, but parted after that. Charlie kissed me on the forehead before retiring to his favorite spot on the sofa.

I climbed the stairs to my room and followed the routine I had finally gotten myself into. First, I checked any emails from Renee. Tonight, there was only one; Phil had been keeping her busy in Florida.

_Bella,_

_I think Phil might be sticking around for a while, he wants to buy a house here! This is the one that we're looking at, isn't it cute?!  
_

_There's a job listing right down the road from that place, a yoga instructor. That's perfect for me! It's like the stars are lining up, baby. I can't wait for you to come home to us after graduation._

_Are you looking at colleges at all yet? I bet you started looking weeks ago, my little early bird. Tell me all about them! Do you have any favorite choices? Phil says he's happy to pay for any school you want to attend._

_Write back soon, okay? I miss you! Mom._

Attached was an image of the house that my mother had mentioned. It was a plain beige, with a flat roof, and only two visible windows. There was a cheap pink flamingo next to the mailbox, and one dead-looking tree in the center of the small yard. I wasn't sure when it had happened, but I had grown accustomed to being surrounded by greenery. The lack of trees seemed too exposing now. I didn't know how to tell Renee that I hated her potential new home, at least in looks.

I also didn't know how to tell her that I had completely neglected to look into potential colleges. Before moving to Forks, I had never felt the freedom to concern myself with potential careers; I was too worried about taking care of my mother. Now that I was in Forks, I had become more invested in my friends for the first time, plus the mystery of the Cullens. Truthfully, I hadn't thought about college at all. This left me a little floundering since Charlie hadn't asked about it. Maybe he wasn't rushing me to figure my life out, not pressure me into making a big, potentially indebting, decision.

I tried to not worry her too much with all of this in my reply, keeping it truthful-- but a light version of the truth.

_Mom,_

_I'm glad you like the house so much, and the flamingo is cute! Seems like things are really good for you and Phil._

_There's a little community college just a little ways away from Forks, I was kind of looking at that one. I know it means staying in Washington, but they have really good arts and humanities programs. Maybe I could just get a two-year degree and transfer to a university later?_

_The prom is coming up and before you ask, no, I'm not going. Two boys did ask me to go with them, though! I was more annoyed than surprised. My friend Jess really likes one of them, and the other just wants to make up for that accident. I don't really like either one of them, so I'm gonna go to Seattle instead. You know, check out the bookstores and maybe get some new music. Maybe I'll surprise Charlie with some fish from Pike's place._

_After Prom, they're going to start selling graduation tickets and yearbooks. I'll let you know more about it when they come up, okay? Remember, graduation is on June 15th, so I'll see you then. Love you._

_Bella_

Okay, so maybe everything I said about Penninsula College in Port Angeles was just repeating stuff Angela had said to me, but Renee didn't need to know that. I added in the prom stuff not because I was excited to talk about it, but because I knew Renee would be excited to hear it. The realization hit me that I had been worrying less and less about my mother as time went by. Was it the distance, or the knowledge that Phil would take care of her? Either way, it was vaguely unsettling to realize that I didn't have to worry about anyone but myself anymore.

After sending the email, I finished up my nightly routine and curled under my blankets, thinking about my time in Forks. Sure, I didn't hate it here as much as I expected, but it wasn't quite home yet, but it could be. If I _did_ end up attending Penninsula College, I could go in knowing that I had a friend in Angela, at least. I could continue to unravel the mystery of the Cullens. Charlie seemed to like having me around and certainly wouldn't kick me out after graduation. I fell asleep musing about my future in Forks, not feeling completely crushed by the idea for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> interesting things to come, yall know i couldnt cut the iconic blood typing scene, its one of the few parts i hope will live up to canon, not better it. Fingers crossed!


End file.
